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Berman Blasts Broadcasters Over Rights Bill
By Susan Butler
Jun 11, 2008

The notion that record companies "have put a ring through the nose of artists" and are leading them to fight for royalties from radio broadcasters "ain't the world today," Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.) charged to broadcaster witnesses late today (June 11) on Capitol Hill.

"Artists have a sophisticated understanding of what they're facing today," Berman said as the Congressional hearing waned into the evening hours. And "they have formed an aggressive coalition" to fight for a performance right for terrestrial radio broadcasts.

The charge came after small broadcaster Charles Warfield, president/COO of ICBC Broadcast Holdings and representative of the National Assn. of Broadcasters, argued that the RIAA -- and not just artists -- should be testifying before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property.

Warfield blamed record companies' contract terms for older artists having financial difficulties today, using Prince as an example of an artist who felt enslaved by his former label.

Warfield and Steven Newberry, president/CEO of Commonwealth Broadcasting, stood their ground opposing any royalty for artists and labels. They argued that the promotional value to artists from airplay is all the money that artists or labels should receive from broadcasters, even though they pay songwriters under copyright law. Artists derive benefits from touring, merchandise and record sales, they said.

Nearly all of the Subcommittee members indicated that they're leaning toward supporting the Performance Rights Act (H.R. 4789), while they recognize that there must be a balance in the legislation to ensure that religious, educational and small broadcasters are not put out of business.

Under the bill, the Copyright Royalty Board would set rates if the parties could not reach an agreement.

"No one is denying the promotional value," said Berman, chairman of the Subcommittee. "That is what the Copyright Royalty Board would weigh in setting rates" if the bill passes.

Artists and labels scored a victory when Subcommittee Ranking Member Howard Coble (R-N.C.) said he was now supporting the bill.

Although he has always supported broadcasters in the past, he said, he decided that continuing to exempt terrestrial radio broadcasters from paying performers "just does not strike me as the right thing to do." He still has questions on the timing and implementation of the fees, he added.

Rep. Ric Keller (R-Fla.) remained a strong proponent for broadcasters, saying that local broadcasters should not risk losing their ability to help the community in times of emergencies by having to pay royalties to artists.

Keller was unsuccessful in trying to lead Nancy Sinatra, who testified on behalf of artists, into saying that "These Boots Were Made for Walking" became a hit due to radio play. Sinatra said that the visual -- her wearing a short skirt and boots -- was a big help in breaking that song.

AFM president Thomas Lee pointed out that session musicians don't benefit from radio promotion.

The Subcommittee is expected to mark up the bill this summer. It is unlikely that Congress will pass the bill this session.

RAC MEMBER ALERT
Performance Rights Bill Introduced
Jan 2, 2008

Dear RAC Members & Supporters:

As you probably know, RAC is a founding member of the musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition, which has been working to correct the historic injustice exempting AM/FM radio broadcasters from paying royalties for sound recordings.

Judy Collins and RAC Member Sam Moore testified in July before the U.S. House of Representatives to advocate for a fair performance right. In November, Lyle Lovett and Alice Peacock testified before the U.S. Senate on this same issue.

And just two weeks ago on December 18, 2007, a bipartisan coalition of Congressional leaders in the House and Senate introduced "The Performance Rights Act." This is a huge development, and we thank all of the artists who have stood up and lent their names in support of musicFIRST.

But we still have a long fight ahead of us. You can help by letting your elected officials in Washington know that fairness for music creators is important to you. It only takes a few minutes to send an e-mail to your Congressman and Senator by clicking on the following link (or cutting and pasting it into your browser): http://www.capwiz.com/musicfirstcoalition/home/.

Together, we can achieve Fairness in Radio Starting Today.

RAC MEMBER ALERT
Lyle Lovett & Alice Peacock Join the Fight for a Performance Right
Nov 13, 2007

Four-time GRAMMY Winner Lyle Lovett and Singer-Songwriter Alice Peacock Testify at Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Behalf of musicFIRST

Earlier today, Lyle Lovett, a four-time GRAMMY winner, and singer-songwriter Alice Peacock testified at the hearing on "Exploring the Scope of Public Performance Rights" in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The two performers - both founding members of the musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition - told Committee Members how important a performance right is for the artist community.

* Lyle Lovett: "When radio plays recorded works, they generate profit for themselves because they attract listeners and advertising dollars. Yet radio has never compensated performers for the value their creative work brings to the radio industry, because the Copyright Act does not protect sound recordings in the same way it protects the underlying songs," said Lovett. "Let's face it. No one tunes into a radio station to hear the commercials."

* Alice Peacock: "Every performance has the potential to be promotional" but why should that make a difference," she said. "I just got back from a gig in Grand Rapids, MI. Imagine if the club owner used the same logic about promotion. What if at the end of the night, after I had filled his club with paying customers, he told me he didn’t have to pay me because my performance helped promote my record sales. Such a scenario would be unacceptable by any standard. Frankly, the promotion argument sounds a little silly."

Today's Senate Committee hearing was the second Congressional hearing about the issue of a performance right on radio. In July GRAMMY winners Judy Collins and Sam Moore - also founding members of the musicFIRST Coalition - testified at the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property hearing on "Ensuring Artists Fair Compensation: Updating the Performance Right and Platform Parity for the 21st Century." Additionally, we've heard from Representative Berman and Senator Leahy that they plan to introduce performance right legislation in the coming weeks.

The Coalition would like to thank all of the artists that have helped us to elevate this issue on Capitol Hill, especially Judy Collins, Sam Moore, Lyle Lovett and Alice Peacock. Their testimonies have been the voice for over 160 artists who support a performance right on radio.

With the help of others in the music community, we can make a fair performance right on radio a reality. Please visit www.musicFIRSTcoalition.org for more information about what you can do to support our efforts.

The musicFIRST (Fairness in Radio Starting Today) Coalition is a group of over 160 founding artists and 12 founding music organizations, including the Recording Artists' Coalition (RAC), committed to fairness in radio. It's time to give performers the right they deserve. All artists - from struggling performers and local musicians to well-known artists - deserve to be compensated for their work when it's played over-the-air, today, and in the future.

RAC MEMBER ALERT
Update on Major Label Settlement Money
Aug 27, 2007

Dear RAC Members,

You may remember our Member Alert, below, from earlier this year where we asked if you had seen any of the major label settlement money from either the MP3.com settlement or the many P2P settlements. We wanted to update you on our findings, as well as on our various conversations and written correspondence with representatives of the major labels and the RIAA.

The RIAA claims that in all but two instances, the actual money collected thus far is much less than the reported settlements. Those two exceptions are the MP3.com and Kazaa settlements. To date, the RIAA has reported that it has received slightly less than $6M from the other settlements combined, all of which was applied to the legal costs associated with anti-piracy prosecutions against those and related entities.

We are told that in MP3.com, each label reached its own settlement and thus dealt with its artists separately. (Sony BMG says that it has indeed shared that money with its artists, but that the specifics of those sharing arrangements are a confidential matter between the label and its artists).

We have learned that $100M of the Kazaa settlement -- by far, the largest of the P2P settlements -- is close to being distributed by the RIAA to its member labels (it is currently sitting in an interest-bearing account); however, there is no indication as to when the labels will distribute the money to the artists. (Again, Sony BMG says that it will share net proceeds with its artists in the same manner as it did in the MP3.com case).

Several of you responded to our earlier e-mail by saying that you had seen your share of the MP3.com money (though not all of you), but none of you had seen the P2P settlement money. At least now you know why.

RAC will continue to put pressure on the RIAA and its member companies to pay you -- the artists who create the music -- the money that you are rightfully owed, and will keep you updated on any new developments.

RAC MEMBER ALERT
RAC Announces musicFIRST Coalition -- New Coalition Calls for Fairness When Music is Played on the Radio
Jun 14, 2007

Today, in Washington, DC, the Recording Artists' Coalition, along with a partnership of other artist and music industry organizations committed to fairness in radio, launched musicFIRST. This coalition is asking that performers -- from aspiring and local artists, to background singers and well-known stars -- be compensated when their music is broadcast over the air.

Over one hundred recording artists -- including RAC President Don Henley and Vice President Sheryl Crow, as well as RAC members Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Jimmy Buffett, Dixie Chicks, Godsmack, Enrique Iglesias, Toby Keith, Jennifer Lopez, Aimee Mann, Tim McGraw, Joni Mitchell, Sam Moore, Alanis Morissette, Bonnie Raitt, David Sanborn, Boz Scaggs, the Estate of Tupac Shakur, Ronnie Spector, Donna Summer, and Thievery Corporation -- have all signed on as founding members of musicFIRST. (A complete list of founding members can be found at www.musicFIRSTcoalition.org).

"Of all the ways we listen to music, "Corporate Radio" is the only medium that refuses to pay performers even a fraction of a penny for their voice and creativity," said Mark Kadesh, executive director of musicFIRST. "This campaign is about making sure everyone, from up-and-coming artists to our favorites from years-ago, is guaranteed fair treatment when their music is played."

Currently, artists are compensated when their work is played on satellite, cable and internet radio. However, AM and FM radio receive a free pass to broadcast the performances of thousands of artists every day without providing fair compensation. musicFIRST is asking for the multi-billion dollar radio industry to be held to the same standards as its competitors.

"What we're talking about here goes beyond the big-name stars; we're talking about aspiring artists, back-up singers, band members -- all the people that bring the music to life," said RAC President Don Henley. "Radio makes millions of dollars because of our creativity, talent, and hard work. It's time that all of us are fairly compensated."

The United States is the only Western, free-market nation that does not require radio stations to pay artists and labels when they broadcast performances on the radio. In fact, when American music is played in foreign countries, they withhold their royalty to protest that U.S. radio stations do not honor a performance right for foreign artists.

"musicFIRST is pushing for legislation that would close the Corporate Radio loophole and require fair compensation to the artists," said Kadesh.

You can help by visiting the musicFIRST website (www.musicFIRSTcoalition.org) and sending a letter to your Senator and Representative asking for a performance right. Tell them how, in this age of multiple music platforms, it is important that wherever music is played, the creators of music need to be paid. It only takes a couple of clicks.

RAC MEMBER ALERT
YOUR ROYALTIES AT RISK FROM AOL, MICROSOFT, AND YAHOO!
May 14, 2007

AOL, Yahoo!, Microsoft and other big corporations are aggressively trying to cut webcasting royalties to artists and labels by 70 percent. That means not only gutting the recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) that set rates at fair market value, but rolling back rates already paid by webcasters.

We need you to write to your Senators and Representatives in Congress immediately.

Click here to let Congress know you are outraged by this attempted big corporate money-grab at your expense.

At issue is a bill called the Internet Radio Equality Act. It has been introduced in both the House and Senate. It is being pushed by an organization called SaveNetRadio. Although the organization claims to represent artists, independent labels and small webcasters, it is in fact funded by the big webcasters, which they have admitted to publicly.

The fact is, if SaveNetRadio cared about artists they wouldn't be fronting for big corporations who are trying to get music on the cheap. Approximately 95 percent of royalties that SoundExchange pays you from webcasting comes from the twenty largest webcasters. They can certainly afford to pay the new rates and they've already paid the old ones which they are now trying to get back. For 2006, they want you to give back $12 million when all they would owe under the new CRB rates is $850,000.

SoundExchange is already reaching out to small webcasters and non-commercial webcasters to find mutually beneficial business arrangements that help to foster growth of Internet radio while providing fair compensation to creators of music.

Enriching the pockets of these big corporations and the multi-million dollar paydays of their executives does nothing to foster the development of new artists, help small webcasters, advance the growth of developing platforms like Internet radio, or benefit the livelihoods of those who work hard to create the music for all to enjoy.

Click here to make your voice heard in Congress.

RAC MEMBER ALERT
Major Label Settlement Money -- Have You Seen Any of This Money?
Mar 26, 2007

Dear RAC Members and Supporters:

RAC is doing an unofficial survey of various artists, personal and business managers, and attorneys with regards to settlement monies from the major labels. We'd like to know if your royalty account (or the royalty accounts of the artists you represent) has been credited with your share of these or any other label settlements:

* Kazaa/Charmin settlement with the labels for $115M in 2006.

* edonkey settlement with the labels for $30M in 2006.

* BearShare settlement with the labels for $30M in 2006.

* Grokster settlement with the labels, studios, and publishers in 2005 for $50M.

* iMesh settlement for $4.1M in 2004.

* Audiogalaxy.com/WinMX settlement with the labels and publishers for an undisclosed amount in 2002.

* MP3.com label settlements in 2000, where MP3.com settled with four of the then-five major labels -- WMG, EMI, BMG, and Sony -- for $20M each. UMG, the one label that refused to settle, won a court decision and was awarded $54.3M in damages.

* (i2Hub shut down after a cease and desist letter from the RIAA, so there was no monetary settlement, and negotiations with Soulseek, LimeWire, and Streamcast's Morpheus services are all ongoing).

That makes for a total of $363.4M in settlement monies. Have you or your clients seen ANY of that money?

Recording Artists' Coalition
STATEMENT OF MIKE MILLS ON BEHALF OF THE RECORDING ARTISTS' COALITION (RAC) BEFORE THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION HEARING ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Oct 3, 2006

On October 3, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held its first official public hearing on media ownership at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles as part of its ongoing proceeding to potentially relax or eliminate limits on media ownership. RAC Member Mike Mills of R.E.M. testified on RAC's behalf before all five FCC commissioners on a panel called "Creative Consequences of Media Consolidation."

Mike testified on the negative effects of media consolidation - specifically, radio station ownership concentration - on new and emerging artists, as well as local music communities and the American listening public.

Mike's testimony was very clear: large radio conglomerates with their "corporatized, nationalized, and sanitized" playlists make getting airplay for local and new artists a virtual impossibility, and do not serve the interests of local communities.

Click here to read Mike Mill's full testimony on behalf of RAC.

Recording Artists' Coalition
RAC JOINS MUSIC COMMUNITY LEADERS AT POLICY SUMMIT
Sep 7, 2006

RAC Joins Music Community Leaders at Policy Summit
Community to Congress: Content Protection a Must for
New Digital Radio Distribution Services

WASHINGTON, D.C., (September 7, 2006) - In the wake of a series of forums held across the country, leaders from the music community, including RAC Board Member Jay Cooper and RAC National Director Rebecca Greenberg, convened this week to develop strategies on a range of issues, including the inequity posed by new digital radio devices giving away copies of music without appropriate compensation to creators.

Today, the music community leaders issued a joint statement:

"Digital audio (HD) broadcasts deliver near CD quality sound over the airwaves. The music community welcomes new technologies that bring music to consumers in high quality and convenient formats. However, this radio format also has the potential to allow unauthorized reproduction and distribution of near perfect copies of songs. We, as a community, stand together and call on Congress to protect the rights of creators and owners by ensuring content protection for new digital radio distribution services."

The joint statement was developed after recent educational panel discussions in Nashville, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami among members of the American Association of Independent Music, American Federation of Musicians, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, Broadcast Music, Incorporated, Church Music Publishers Association, Gospel Music Association, Harry Fox Agency, Jazz Alliance International, Music Managers Forum-USA, Nashville Songwriters Association International, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, National Music Publishers' Association, Recording Artists' Coalition, Recording Industry Association of America, Rhythm & Blues Foundation, SESAC, Songwriters Guild of America and SoundExchange. A subsequent discussion forum will be held Friday in Atlanta.

In addition, Recording Arts Day on Capitol Hill, the music community's annual advocacy day in Washington held on Wednesday and organized by The Recording Academy, highlighted the "audio flag" among several issues important to the music community.

Recording Artists' Coalition
GODSMACK AND DEF LEPPARD / JOURNEY RAC AUCTION
Aug 25, 2006


The Recording Artists Coalition has teamed up with Godsmack, Def Leppard, and Journey to offer you the ultimate chance to be a VIP on their upcoming tours. Ticket packages include front row seats, VIP parking, exclusive pre-show party, exclusive gift bag, and more! Click here for more info.
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